Arrest Made In Feb. Slaying Near D.C. Club

Months after a high-profile killing that led to the closing of a nightclub in a municipal building, D.C. police said yesterday that an arrest has been made.

Police said that Jerome Jones, 31, of no fixed address, was arrested Saturday in connection with the stabbing of Terrence Brown, 31. Brown was killed Feb. 13 at the Reeves Center on 14th Street NW, just outside Club U.

Residents of the rapidly gentrifying U Street neighborhood around the club called the killing the latest in a series of violent incidents associated with the nightclub.

Despite the outcry, months passed without any indication that police were making progress in the case. Details of the investigation remained unclear last night.

In their statement, police said that the case "was closed" with Jones's arrest. The statement said he was charged with second-degree murder while armed.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said that charge was not being pursued in court. A D.C. police investigator said prosecutors had decided to charge Jones with assault with intent to kill.

In their statement, police said their preliminary investigation indicated that Brown, who lived in the 800 block of 46th Street NE, had been involved earlier that night in an altercation inside Club U.

They said that the fight continued in the building lobby outside the club and that Brown was stabbed in the lobby about 3 a.m.

It was not clear what led to Saturday's arrest.

"I feel great about it," said Lawan Snoddy, a sister of the victim.

In June, the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted to revoke the club's liquor license.

Board Chairman Charles A. Burger said at the time that the club's owners lost control of the facility and that security personnel were too swamped to attend to Brown's bleeding. He also said the club posed an unreasonable safety risk to patrons and employees. Club owners have said they provided tight security, and their attorneys said last night that the license revocation is being appealed in court.